I'm The
Girl He Wants To Kill
(ITC Movie title "I'm The Girl He Wants To Kill")
Original UK transmission: 8th June 1974
Original US transmission: 18th March 1974
WRITTEN BY: Brian Clemens
DIRECTED BY: Shaun O'Riordan
PRODUCED BY: John Sichel
MAIN CAST: Julie Sommars (Ann Rogers), Robert Lang (The Man),
Anthony Steel (Mr Burton), Tony Selby (Mark), Ken Jones (Sam),
Geoffrey Whitehead (Keston), Annette Woollett (Penny)
Teaser
Sequence
The camera descends onto a
deserted urban street in the early hours, as a car full of
partygoers tears up and pulls to a stop. An attractive young girl
carrying an armful of balloons climbs out of the car, waves
goodbye and, smiling, climbs the steps to her front door. As she
fishes for her keys, she hears a noise behind her and turns to
see an odd-looking man frozen silent in the alcove. She smiles at
him, but he registers no expression. Instead, his hand snaps into
position bearing a knife; the girl begins to scream but is
instantly silenced. As she falls dead to the ground, the killer
departs and the balloons careen headlong towards the sky.
Plot
Summary
Office secretary Ann is
horrified to find a young neighbour murdered when she returns to
her London flat one evening. When the police arrive she realises
that she had witnessed what must have been the killer leaving the
building just as she was entering, but is unable to make a
positive identification. Shortly after, she spots the man working
in a shop and runs terrified back to the office, convinced that
he has followed her. When her detective boyfriend Mark re-assures
her that the killer has in fact been caught, she forgets the
incident and remains behind in the empty building to finish off a
large batch of work. When she unexpectedly finds the security
guard murdered and the front doors locked however, a terrifying
nightlong ordeal begins, with her and her would-be killer caught
in a deadly game of cat and mouse throughout the building.
Comments
This simple yet remarkably gripping tale of a girl trapped alone
in a building with her pursuer plays on most people's fear of
being chased. Much of the action takes place in silence, with
long nerve-wracking sequences which suddenly erupt into a frenzy
of frantic action. The peculiar looking Robert Lang is
perfect for the part of The Man; the masterstroke was to make him
completely mute (save for a few lines off camera), which somehow
makes him seem so much more the menacing. Complementing Lang's
incredible performance is Julie Sommars, who is utterly
believable as his terror stricken victim, and who's
nerve-shredding screams add immensely to the episode's impact.
One TV Times reader recalled at the time "this was
bidding for some kind of award. I can't remember any other
programme where I was too afraid even to light a cigarette for
fear of missing a second of the non-stop action".
Unforgettable.
Watch a 2 minute clip from this story
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